The iPad is changing the way we learn and the way we access all kinds of information whether it be for an educational or recreational purpose. As a partially sighted musician I would recommend investing in an iPad as there are many ways to creatively use it:
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As a midi controller.
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For DJing and mixing tracks.
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To access instrument tuners and metronomes.
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For viewing scored music and composing new scores.
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For downloading and creating guitar tablature.
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To record your voice/or an instrument (this needs a compatible audio interface to be connected).
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To create new sounds with different synthesisers.
Accessibility
Like all Apple and iOS devices, the iPad comes with inbuilt zoom and voice over features. These features are essential in aiding blind and partially sighted people's access to technology. The only problem with these built in features is that they are not always compatible with external applications that are downloaded from the App store. This is due to the way that the applications are designed and often accessibility compatibility is over looked. With this in mind, here are some applications and external iOS compatible devices that I would consider to be particularly useful to a musician.
Applications
Are you a musician and tired of having to search through many pieces of paper, books, and chord sheets in order to find the piece of music you want to play? Sheet Music Readers are available for the iPad. These enable you to use the iPad as you would use a music stand, allowing you to not only display sheet music, guitar tablature and lyrics, but also to zoom into the score, making the notation what ever size you desire. You can carry around your entire musical repertoire and resources where ever you travel without the additional inconvenience and weight of hard copies.
All the apps mentioned below are available in the App Store.
ForScore is a very popular example of a score reading application. You can store and access thousands of scores at any one time. This application supports DropBox and PDF format so you can import new scores into your repertoire without needing to convert files. This application is not directly compatible with voice over but does support certain features; such as reading titles and headings, etc. The application development team have plans to redevelop the application to make it compatible with voice over and zoom in the near future.
Do you want access to your instrument anytime and anywhere? There are many applications available to download that simulate the sound and display of real instruments; you'll be amazed at what an established musician can achieve with these virtual devices.
Pianist Pro is an example of a very popular piano simulator application. Pianist pro has a very accessible interface, with a large interactive touch activated piano along with additional features including an arpeggiator, a drum machine and a choice of alternate instruments to play with.
If recording music is your forte then you can buy a device to connect your instrument to the iPad. This device is called an Apogee Jam and works just like any other audio interface. Plug your 1/4 guitar/bass lead into the device which connects to the iPad, allowing you to record your riffs and musical ideas into Garage Band or other equivalent software packages. The Apogee Jam interface works with not only the iPad, but with your Macbook and iPod/iPhone too.
Similar to the Apogee Jam there is an iMiC interface attachment which may be of interest to singers and other instrument players. Apple have spent much time developing Garage Band to ensure it is accessible with zoom and voice over features; therefore I would recommend this combination of software and portable audio interface for any musician wanting to record their music.
As the accessibility of some of these applications and products is not always as desired, we would love to hear your experiences with similar musical applications, do you know of any that are particularly accessible or do you have any recommendations? Your feedback will be useful in assisting a follow up article addressing accessibility of music applications in further detail in the near future.
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We want to hear from you, our users. Which apps and websites should we be writing about on the TechKnowMore blog? Is there an app you can no longer live without? What website is at the top of your favourites list? Drop us an email on DigitalAccess@rnib.org.uk to let us know, and your favourite service could be featured in the very near future!